New
by Phantom Rosabelle
Summary: "Is kissing something that's done on KO-35?" Andros and Ashley after Halley's Comet.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Rangers.

**Notes:** Written for the "first kiss" prompt on the kiss bingo challenge. (Yes, I signed up for another bingo card challenge. The cards are fun.) It also possibly out-schmoops the thing I wrote last week.

**New**

Her thin yellow suit was armor enough to protect her from the blade of a sword and buffer the unwelcoming chill of space, but it couldn't truly keep her warm. She'd shivered even as Halley's Comet had taken her breath away... though she'd felt a very different kind of warmth with Andros's arms secure around her waist.

Ashley shook out her hair in a shower of golden sparkles and hopped down to the deck. "That was..." She caught the hand Andros offered her with a smile. "Amazing."

"I hoped you would like it," he said. With his hand in hers and a smile on his face, he was as relaxed as she'd ever seen him. "I wasn't sure what you were used to."

"Definitely not that," she said. "Is this what all your dates were like on KO-35?"

"I..." His smile faded some. "I wouldn't know."

"You didn't go on many dates?" Somehow, that didn't surprise her.

"Not really," he said. He wasn't quite blushing. "I'm—I'm kind of new at this."

Ashley squeezed his hand once before she let go. "Well," she said, to give herself time, "I... I'm new to dating you."

She knew when Andros ducked his head that he was definitely blushing now, and she bit her lip to keep from giggling. He was still smiling, and she thought, not for the first time, that he should do that more often.

"Hey," she said. When he met her eyes again, she slid her arm through his and tugged him towards the synthetron. "This isn't as exciting as your comet, but I think it's just what we need after being out in the cold for so long."

He looked wary even after he sniffed the mug she handed him. "What is this?"

"Hot chocolate," she said, giggling at his startled look. "I thought you liked chocolate."

"It wasn't liquid before."

"It's good," she said, taking a careful first sip. "I promise. I'd just give it a few minutes to cool down before you drink it."

She set her mug on the table beside his, hesitating in the sudden silence. He hovered at her side, just far enough away that he wasn't touching her. But he was watching her in that way of his, and she tried not to feel uncomfortable under the intensity of his stare.

It helped that he was just watching her... and still smiling. And blushing again.

Ashley couldn't smother her giggles this time. In this moment, he was quite possibly the most non-threatening looking Ranger in the entire universe, and she wasn't sure that the same couldn't be said for herself.

"You—" He touched her cheek. When had he lifted his hand? She wasn't sure, but his hand lingered there, his fingers gliding over her cheekbone, and she decided it was a silly thing to wonder about when he quietly said, "You're beautiful."

She raised a hand to cover his, lost for words. She took his other hand, too, just because she could.

"Is—" Ashley caught her breath. "Andros?"

"Yeah?"

She swallowed. "Is kissing something that's done on KO-35?"

"Yeah." Andros shifted his hands in her grip, twining his fingers through hers. "I'm... kind of new at that, too."

She'd figured that. His fingers tightened as he pulled her towards him.

"That's okay," she murmured, drawn so close against him that their noses brushed together. "Andros..."

She needed to tilt her head just slightly. His lips were soft, warm on hers and curving into a smile even if his eyes were wide with uncertainty and his hands were gripping hers hard enough now that it almost hurt.

His smile turned sheepish when she tugged her hands free, but he kissed her one more time before she stepped back. "I..." He actually laughed, and that was something else she couldn't get enough of. "I liked that."

"Me too." Ashley could still feel her heart thudding when she stepped back. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the abandoned hot chocolate mugs. "Here," she said. She passed him his and took a sip of her own. "Drink it before it gets cold."


End file.
